Today, as COVID-19 surges in Florida and more than 20 other states, the Trump administration is filing briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of repealing the Affordable Care Act. Republican Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is also joining this lawsuit against the ACA, despite the fact that more people in Florida signed up for the ACA’s marketplace than any other state in 2019.
A new analysis from Center for American Progress details the number of Americans who could lose coverage if the court sides with Trump. They estimated that the total number of Floridians who could lose health insurance if Trump succeeds in overturning the ACA is 1,750,000, up by 190,000 people since the pandemic began.
In response Florida Democratic Party Chair Terrie Rizzo released the following statement:
“While Floridians are trying to stay afloat during the dual health and economic crisis born of the coronavirus pandemic, Donald Trump is still forging ahead with his lawsuit to strip millions of Americans of their health care,” said FDP Chair Terrie Rizzo, “Today is a reminder of just how important it is for Floridians to elect Joe Biden in November — we need a president who will treat health care as a right, not a privilege and work tirelessly to make that a reality for all Floridians.”
Statement on Acting Secretary Chad Wolf’s Visit to Florida
Today, Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Chad Wolf visited Tampa, Florida for a discussion on law enforcement. During a June 7th interview with ABC News, Wolf said, “I do not think that we have a systemic racism problem with law enforcement officers across this country.”
This stunning denial ignores not only centuries of racism in America, but also ample evidence that Black Americans are disproportionately victims of police brutality and that Black people are dying of Covid-19 at three times the rate of white people. At a time when the overwhelming majority of Americans, including many Republicans, support police reform proposals advocated by Democrats, Trump and his administration continue to show how out of touch they are.
In response to Acting Secretary Wolf’s visit to Florida today, Frances Swanson, spokesperson for the Florida Democratic Party released the following statement:
“Chad Wolf can’t spin his boss’ disastrous record. As our country united to demand change following the murder of George Floyd, the Trump administration dog whistled to white supremacists, ignored systemic racism in law enforcement, and sicced the US military on peaceful protesters. Floridians deserve better — Joe Biden has been addressing these problems head on and is exactly the type of compassionate, thoughtful leader we need in the White House.”
